LIVE car tests – driven by Jessica & Jeremy

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How many buttons do you need to press to overtake in a BMW M4?

Is it just me or are cars becoming a little too overcomplicated these days? Take my M4. It’s something of a barnstormer – bumps in all the right places and very, very fast.

Twenty years ago that would have been enough for an enthusiastic driver, always ready to put his foot down at the slightest opportunity.

There was no need to press extra buttons to set the vehicle up in sport mode, heighten the revs or firm up the suspension (let alone make the exhaust sound LOUD).

So when I came to overtake a line of three cars today, it was a damp trouser moment when I suddenly realised the BMW was quite set up right for a straight line dash.

This was, as you might imagine, not good. Surely if a sports car IS a sports car, it should be ready to go at the press of the right foot – and not at the press of a right foot and assorted buttons and oh, bugger, it’s too late.

Pure, unfettled fun is hard to come by these days. Maybe it’s time to buy a new Mazda MX-5 instead…